1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a method, apparatus and system for selecting, ordering and purchasing glass products, in particular glass fabrication products used in the construction of doors, windows, skylights, storefront, curtainwall, and other residential and commercial glass applications.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Glass panels are used widely in the construction of buildings, and are primarily used in the form of a door or window. The glass window or door panel may comprise a single layer of glass, or multiple layers of glass, laminated together or separated with an insulating material or gas there between. For example, insulating glass fabrications may have two panels of glass separated by an insulator, such as air or argon gas, which is sealed between the glass panels.
Glass products are utilized to satisfy a variety of aesthetic as well as functional requirements. For example, an architect designing a structure, such as a building or dwelling, typically begins the glass selection process by specifying certain colors for the glass which will comprise the windows or doors. Architects and designers may select certain colors for glass in residential and commercial applications. Glass color is integrated by the designer or architect in conjunction with the other building materials, including their textures and colors.
The color of glass may affect other physical properties of the glass or bear a relationship to characteristics of the glass. For example, performance characteristics for glass, may include colors, transmission, reflection, transparency, absorption, thickness, weight, and other physical or observable properties. In the past it has been time-consuming and difficult to determine the glass requirements to be included in a glass specification. For example, one traditional way to obtain information needed in writing a glass specification is to manually sort through numerous catalogs, or reference sheets identifying characteristics for glass. This method generally involves looking through a manufacturer's catalog to ascertain whether there is a particular glass that meets ones requirements for color and performance. Often an individual may look to more than one manufacturer's catalog and continue this process in search of a particular glass, or glass fabrication. The process is even more complex when more than a single glass panel is involved, as many glass specifications written today comprise insulating glass or laminated glass panels. Many codes and regulations mandate minimum insulation requirements that must be met by the specified glass products. The selection of glass products has largely been through reference to a single company's product catalog, presenting for selection the glass products of that company.
Another traditional way to arrive at a glass product is to consult a trained product representative who would utilize a computer software program, which is essentially a database of glass information from which calculations may be made. This type of program does not provide a specification, but rather, provides a basic result of a calculation. One would then take the numbers obtained from the calculation and interpret them in order to finalize the glass selection process. From there, the glass specification would be developed. With this prior method, it appears that even after ascertaining the calculated values, there still needs to be prepared a glass specification, which requires the utilization of the information from the calculations obtained with the program. Once calculated, in the event that the glass performance characteristics specification do not satisfy the target performance requirements, changes would require recalculating the numbers in order to provide acceptable color and performance characteristics. The recalculation can take place many times before a desirable specification is obtained, and the recalculation generally requires that the user perform an additional calculation, in the same manner as the first calculation. This process is not only time consuming, but requires users to start over each time a new calculation is to be performed. And even then, after determining that a particular glass product, when the performance calculation is completed, would potentially meet the properties desired, after arriving at a glass specification, often a sample must be obtained to visually evaluate the glass. Since the calculation may be time consuming, calculating, deriving a specification and obtaining a sample may be done several times before a suitable glass selection is arrived at. This process can often take several days or much longer.
The software available for use in connection with the calculation of numeric values for certain properties of glass products generally requires the user to have detailed prior knowledge in order to select a glass for a starting point. From there, the type of glass which the user selects, either from the user's own prior knowledge or a catalog, could be tested to determine whether that selection would be appropriate for the performance properties desired. A drawback of this type of process is that the user was essentially required to possess particular knowledge in order to select a starting point to make a glass selection. From there, calculations would be made and the user could test the calculations arrived at with the program against the desired performance properties for the glass. If the performance properties were not acceptable, then the user would repeat the calculation from the beginning, selecting another glass product to test.
One example of a prior software program used in connection with glass products is WINDOW 4.1, a program which compares a user's glass product input with a database of glass performance characteristics for the selected glass product to determine the selected product performance properties. The database information for the program comprises measured characteristics for a number of glass products which are recalled when the associated glass product is selected by the user.
In many instances selecting a glass product is even more complex, since a glass fabrication may, as mentioned above, comprise a composite of one or more glass panels which can be laminated together, include glass coatings or other performance enhancing materials. Further adding to the array of the glass structure may be films or layers between the composite, such as insulating materials including air, argon or other gases. All of these additional components affect the performance characteristics of the glass. In addition, often, it may not be desirable for a single manufacturer of a glass panel to supply both panels or components used to comprise a glass product. This may be the case, for example, where the glass product is an insulating or laminated product. In many instances, it may be necessary to utilize products for an insulating or laminated glass product which are supplied by one or more different manufacturers. This further adds to the complexity of selecting glass products and arriving at a glass specification which will satisfy the performance characteristics desired for the application. Designers who work with glass products which are a significant element of a structure or other design, a most common example being window panels of a building, must take into consideration the performance properties of the glass, and if laminated, coated, or multi-layered, the properties of any other materials, as well as their cumulative or combined effect on the glass.
A need exists for a way to facilitate glass selection so that experienced or novice users may arrive at a glass specification to facilitate selecting a glass product, ordering a glass product, and purchasing a glass product, without requiring the user to preselect a product, and which is informative to guide the user in selecting a glass product, even where the glass is comprised of glass panels of more than one manufacturer.